Guardian Australia is the latest media company to strike a deal with Google to feature its journalism in the News Showcase product just days out from the Senate debating the federal government’s news media code.
The multi-year commercial agreement was finalised after weeks of negotiation between Google and the Guardian’s leadership in Australia, as well as editorial and commercial staff in London.
“We are pleased to have reached this agreement with Google because it will allow us to break more stories, provide more independent Australian journalism and reach more readers,” Guardian Australia editor Lenore Taylor said.
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As part of Google Showcase, Guardian Australia will be able to control when and what Guardian stories are presented to readers in Showcase, and will have more control over how stories are presented in story panels in Google News.
The agreement is one of over 50 Google has made with publishers in Australia, and over 500 in the world as part of News Showcase. In the past two weeks Google has been signing deals with Seven West Media, Nine, News Corp, as well as smaller players including Junkee Media.
The ABC has yet to reach an agreement with Google.
The 11th-hour deals were made as the federal government has pushed ahead with legislation for a news media bargaining code, which would require Google and Facebook to enter negotiations with news publishers for payment for content, and if no agreement can be reached, an arbiter will decide the financial terms of the deal.
Google had said the worst-case scenario for the code would be to withdraw its search engine from Australia in response. The company quickly began signing agreements with several large media companies following negotiations with the federal government, indicating the government may be open to limiting the application of the code to the News Showcase product if enough publishers are on board.
Guardian Australia’s managing director, Dan Stinton, told the Senate inquiry reviewing the legislation in January that the only reason Google had come to the table was because of the increasing regulatory pressure both in Australia and overseas.
“To be clear: there is absolutely no way that there will be talks of doing deals on Facebook News or Google Showcase if that wasn’t the case.”
In a statement Stinton pointed to the role the development of the code had played in leading to the deal.
“We welcome the partnership with Google which recognises the benefits that Guardian journalism delivers and look forward to working with them to make this deal a success,” he said.
“We also congratulate the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Australian government on the development of the digital platforms and news media bargaining code, with this world-leading legislation providing the necessary regulatory environment to secure fair commercial deals that will sustain Australian journalism into the future.”
Google Australia and New Zealand managing director, Mel Silva, said Google was excited about the deal.
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“The Guardian is one of Australia’s most popular news outlets with a huge presence in the country. Its quality journalism is known across the world – we are proud to welcome Guardian Australia to News Showcase,” she said.
“The Guardian has a strong history breaking important stories across politics, health, the environment and provides a unique focus on Australian culture.”
Legislation for the news media bargaining code is expected to be debated in the Senate next week. The other digital platform to be subject to the code, Facebook, has blocked news content from Australia in response to the code passing the House of Representatives this week.
The treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, will continue discussions with Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerbeg about outstanding issues with the code over the weekend, and has indicated some amendments may be made.
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